Article dispenser



Feb. 13, 1951 Filed June 4, 1947 N. F. SMITH 2,541,945

ARTICLE DISPENSER 2 sheets-sheet 1 Feb. 13, 195-1 N. F. sMrrH ARTICLE DISPENSER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filzed June` 4, 1947 Patented Feb. 13, 1951 'ENTv OFFKCE 2,541,945 f garrote nisrnNsEn Norman-Fasniith, Chicagmvlll., assigner-tog Rex Industries, In c.

AppIicatitin-JuneA, 1947, Serial No. 752,447'

8 Claims; (Cl. E12-79) l. This invention relatesto an article dispenser,v suchas a dispenser for cigarettes and the like.

Theprincipal objectiof.A this inventonis to provide an improvedarticle dispenser for: dispensing articles one' at a time, which is simple in construction and operation and which maybe manufa'ctured and assembled at relatively low cost. In thisv connection,` the improved article dispenser includesfa container having sidewalls and a bottom wall, preferably fabricated from sheet ma-A terial, and-an elevator for lifting articles from the bottom. wall. and dispensing them at the top of. the container. A'pair of toggle arms support' the elevator andthe latter may be guided in its movementv by elevator extensions operating in slots inthe side walls. ASpring means, preferably on'thev togglev arms,. bias the elevator upwardly` to dispensing` position and the elevator may be lowered' by 'a Ushaped. lever pivoted to the side walls and; engaging. the Velevator extensions. A link extendingfrom the top of. the dispenser may operate the U-Lshapedlever. To facilitateassembly` andA otherwiseaidin lowf cost of manufacture, the toggle' arms may be pivotally mounted in'slots inlthe. bottornwall andV the U-shaped;

lever maybe pivotally' mounted. in slots inthe side walls., `The article container'maybe encasedin a housing and'V provided with a'. top wall having a dispensing opening. through, which the articles are dispensed'by the elevator. A guard may beprovided over the dispensing openingtoV prevent displacement of the' dispense'darticle should the dispensing action be too forceful;

f" Further 'objects of" theinvention reside in the details'. of.` construction of'Y the component 'parts of the dispenser andin the cooperativerelation' Figure 3..is a sectional view taken substantially along the lineB-L-Sof Figure 2;

Figure Ll is aft'op elevational View partly insection takenalong the line A544 ofFigure A1;

Figure 5, is a partialr perspective viewof the elevator with one of. the toggle arms associated' therewith ;.j

Figure' 6 is a partiallperspective View of a por;- tion ofthe bottom wall.

The article dispenser; which is particularly adaptable for dispensing cigarettes 9. one at` a time, is generally designated' at It.v It includes; av container II having side walls I2 and lgprozvided with upper flanges I4, andl bottom walls. I5f and IIB; The ybottom walls I5 and Iii4 arelpro.- vided with ears I'i adapted to. extend through: slotsV in the side walls I2 andi I3-a`nd to be bent? over for the purpose of securing the bottom walls. I5 and iSto the 4side wallsV l2`a`n`d I3; The bot'- tom walls I5 andV I6 are provided at their tops. withY flanges It and are provided at' their bottomsf with extensions It which form a channelv therebetween. Preferably, the bottom walls? i5 and.` It slant toward the center, as shown', fortheY purpose of feeding the articles 9 toward'the channel between. the extensions E9. The extensions I9` forming the channel are provided with slots Zl'terminating in openings 2 I.

The side walls I2 and 3 of thecontainer are `provided adjacent the channel in the"`bottomv wall with vertically' arranged slotsy 23 for receiv' ing eXtensions'Zt of an elevator25. The elevator 25 is adapted to be raised andlowered andthe' movement of the elevator is guided by the ele-- vat'or extensions 243' operating in the slots' 23k. Preferably, the elevator 25 is concave o n its upper side so as to conform generally to the shape ofthe article Q to bedispensed` thereby.

The elevator 25 is provided with a plurality of depending ears. 2? for receiving pins 28 upon which are( pivotally mounted. the arms 29 of'aV toggle arrangement The lower arms 3e) ofthe` toggle arrangement are pivoted to the upper armsl 29 by1means of pivot pins 3i and the lower ends of the toggle arms 3i) are provided with lateral extensions 32 whichare received through the slots 2) into the holes 2l formed in thev sides of. the channel in the bottom wall. The lateral exten.-A sions 32- operating inthe holes 2l in the channel. therefore provide pivotalmountings for the lowerV ends of the toggle arms. Torsion springs 33,l are carriedvby, the, pivot pins 3| for the purpose of extending the toggle arms and lift the elevator.. 25 to its raisedposition. The toggle arms 29a`nd 3,0 in addition to supporting the elevator 25'also'. operate to prevent the articles!) fromgettingunl' derneath the elevator 25 when 'thelatter is in ja.` raised position. v

A U-shaped lever 35 is carried by notches 3B, formedvin the side Walls I2 and I 3 offthev container'and the lever; 35 is held Withinthenotch'es" by springs 3lv extending between'y the` lever 35`a'ndA ears 38 formed on the inner sides of the side walls I2 and I3. The extremities of the U-shaped lever 35 engage the elevator extensions 24 for controlling the raising and lowering of the elevator 25. The U-shaped lever 35 is provided between the side walls I2 and I3 with a crank arm 39 which carries one end of an operating lilnk 4D which extends upwardly through an opemng 1n the flange I8 of the bottom wall I6 and terminates in a button 4 I.

The container and the parts thus far discussed may be encased in a housing 43 provided with a bottom plate 44 secured thereto by screws 45. The housing 43 engages the flanges I4 and I8 of the bottom and side walls so that the container and the component parts are clamped between the housing 43 and the bottom plate 44. K

A top wall 46k rests upon the anges I4 and I8 and operates to cover the container II. The top wall 46 is provided with an opening 4'I for receiving the actuating link 40 and associated button 4I and is also provided with a dispensing opening 48 directly above the elevator 25. Adjacent the ends of the dispensing opening 48, the top wall 46 is provided with depressions 49 to aid in picking up a dispensed article from the elevator 25. A guard 59 secured to the top wall 46 by screws 5I and provided with a central opening 52 is located over the dispensing opening 48. The guard 50 prevents displacement of the dispensed artlcle should the dispensing action be too forceful and also serves as a handle for removing the top Wall 45 in order to refill the container with articles to be dispensed.

When the container is supplied with articles S g.;

to be dispensed and the top wall 46 is in place, the elevator 25 is maintained in the raised position as shown in Figure 1 and consequently closes the dispensing opening 48 thereby cutting down circulation of air in the container and maintaining fresh the articles therein. When it is desired to dispense an article from the container, the button 4I is depressed a-nd the U-shaped lever 35 forces the elevator 25 downwardly against the action of the springs 33, the downward movement being permitted by folding of the toggle arms 29 and 39. When the elevator 25 is lowered into the channel in the bottom wall, an article 9 will then fall upon the elevator 25 as is shown in Figure 2.

When the button 4I is released, the springs 33 straighten out the toggle arms 29 and 39 and raise the eievator to the dispensing position as shown in Figure l and carry along with it the article to be dispensed. The article being dispensed appears in the dispensing opening 48 and may be readily grasped at the depressions 49. Should the dispensing action be too forceful, displacement of the article being dispensed from the elevator 25 is prevented by the guard 50.

The manner of pivotally mounting the lower ends of the toggle arms 39 in the channel in the bottom wall and the manner of pivotally'mounting the U-shaped lever in the side walls of the container provide a simple construction and mode of assembly. Obviously a two-way connection may be provided between the elevator extensions 24 and the U-shaped lever 35, and the springs for raising the elevator 25 may act upon the U- shaped lever 35 in lieu of acting upon the toggle arms 29 and 30.

While for purposes of illustration one form of this invention has been disclosed, other forms thereof may become apparent to those skilled in thenart upon reference to this disclosure and,V

Iii)

4 therefore, this invention is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims and prior art.

What is claimed is:

1. An article dispenser comprising a container for the articles including side walls and a bottom wall, an elevator for lifting articles from the bottom Wall of the container and dispensing them at the top of the container, slots in the side walls of the container, extensions on the elevator extending through the slots for guiding the elevator, a pair of spaced toggle arms supporting the elevator, spring means on the toggle arms for raising the elevator, and a lever engaging the elevator extensions for lowering the elevator.

2. An article dispenser comprising a container for the articles including side walls and a bottorn wall, an elevator for lifting articles from the bottom wall of the container and dispensing them at the top of the container, slots in the side walls of the container, extensions on the elevator extending through the slots for guiding the elevator, a pair of spaced toggle arms supporting the elevator, notches in the side walls of the container, and a U-shaped lever located in the notches and engaging the elevator extensions for moving the elevator.

3. An article dispenser comprising a container for the articles including side walls and a bottom wall, an elevator for lifting articles from the bottom wall of the container and dispensing them at the top of the container, slots in the side walls of the container, extensions on the elevator extending through the slots for guiding the elevator, a pair of spaced toggle arms supporting the elevator, notches in the side walls of the container, a U-shaped lever located in the notches and engaging the elevator extensions for moving the elevator, and springmeans for retaining the U-shaped lever in the notches.

4. An article dispenser comprising a container for the articles including side Walls and a bottom wall, an elevator for lifting articles from the bottom wall of the container and dispensing them at the top of the container, slots in the side walls of the container, extensions on the elevator extending through the slots for guiding the elevator, a pair of spaced toggle arms supporting the elevator, spring means on the toggle arms for raising the elevator, notches in the side Walls of the container, and a U-shaped lever located in the notches and engaging the elevator extensions for lowering the elevator.

5, An article dispenser comprising a container for the articles including Side walls and a bottom wall, an elevator for lifting articles from the bottom wall of the container and dispensing them at the top of the container, slots in the side walls of the container, extensions on the elevator extending through the slots for guidingrthe elevator, a pair of spaced toggle arms supporting the elevator, spring means on the toggle arms for raising the elevator, notches in the side walls of the container, a U-shaped lever located in the notches and engaging the elevator extensions for lowering the elevator, and spring means for retaining the U-shaped lever in the notches.

6. An article dispenser comprising a cont-ainer for the articles including side walls and a bot- 'tom wall, an elevator for lifting articles from the bottom wall of the container and dispensing them at the top of t-he container, slots in the side walls of the container, extensions on the elevator extending through the slots for guiding the elevator, a pair ofspaced toggle arms supporting the elevator, a U-shaped lever having a crank arm and pivoted in the side walls of the container and engaging the elevator extensions for moving the elevator, a link engaging the crank arm for moving the U-shaped lever to lower the elevator, and spring means for raising the elevator.

7.( An article dispenser comprising a container for the articles including side walls and a bottom wall, an elevator for lifting articles from the bottom Wall of the container and dispensing them at the top of the container, slots in the side walls of the container, extensions on the elevator extending through the slots for guiding the elevator, a pair of spaced toggle arms supporting the elevator, notches in the side wall of the container, a U-shaped lever having a crank arm located in the notches and engaging the elevator extensions for moving the elevator, a link engaging the crank arm for moving the U-shaped lever to lower the elevator, and spring means for raising the elevator.

8. An article dispenser comprising a container for the articles including side walls and al sloping bottom Wall provided with a channel, an elevator REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

n UNITED STATES PATENTS- Number Name Date 1,457,050 Abbaticchio May 29, 1923 1,498,476 Nadwocki June 17, 1924 1,696,787 Zelkowitz et al. Dec. 25, 1928 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date France Feb. 28, 1912 

